Friday, November 03, 2006

Democracy?

The Washington Square Newsreports that the GAC puppet government has officially been formed (though word about who is in it is not yet available). This structure claims to be democratic because it is electoral, but electoral positions will be distributed "equally of student representatives from each graduate school, department, and program"--meaning that those students who never have to work a day in their graduate student lives could be the ones making whatever puny decisions they are permitted to make about the lives of those of us who have to work for our pay.

But that's not the scariest part. The scariest part is that the WSN article notes that the GAC is a revolutionary force--ostensibly, because GAC representatives will "be able to speak directly with university officials." Um, university officials have office hours. And telephones. And make meetings. People already talk to them directly--people like the fired strikers from last year whose grievance still is not being heard. People like the Chemistry GAs who took matters into their own hands. That's what power is? That's what democracy is? Being able to "speak to officials?" Sounds like fascism to me.

While we are on the subject of democracy: this Tuesday, November 7th, is Election Day. Be sure to get out and vote--and our union, the UAW, has a website with a list of candidates they have endorsed in local and state races nationwide. These candidates have been chosen because of their records supporting the needs and rights of working people. They are the people we need as we face the most repressive climate for labor in years.

"that those students who never have to work a day in their graduate student lives"

this statement is qualitatively untrue and attests to the fact that this blog represents a thoroughly reactionary and lamentably uninformed opinion (or worse, that the author knows the truth and is deliberately misrepresenting it). Only students who serve as Graduate Assistants, Teaching Assistants, or Research assistants are allowed to run for the House of Delegates. Read the press release, go to the website on monday, this is clearly spelled out.

That's what power is? That's what democracy is? Being able to "speak to officials?" Sounds like fascism to me.

Yes, as soon I read your description, I was taken back to my visit to Colleville-sur Mer, were the results of previous battles against fascism can be seen. I thought about my friend Norbert with the tattoo on his arm and said to myself "Yep, NYU's student government plan is just like fascism."

My goodness. He may have said it 60 years ago, but Orwell was on to something when he said:

The word Fascism has now no meaning except in so far as it signifies "something not desirable".

The point here is that a)The company union is entirely powerless. With no recourse to binding 3rd party arbitration, the administration can continue to do what they have done since the contract expired - stall and leave people in limbo, and b) that despite the fact that GSAS grad students constitute over 60% of the people affected by this farce, we get less than half the seats in the HOD. Both of these facts suggest a mechanism clearly designed to silence, rather than address, our concerns.

Let me guess this straight, you get to elect people who will have the right to talk with administrators? Shouldn't that be a given in a school? I am sorry but my high school student government had more say in how the school was run (heck we elected three voting members of the school's leadership team, teachers did the same along with classified staff). At the district level, we only had a "voice" so I know how well that works. Grad student union or association, the name doesn't matter what does is whether it has teeth to actually do anything otherwise it is just a forum to vent.